Having excellent tenants that stay for a long period of time is every landlord’s dream. To maximize your profitability and minimize your risks as a landlord, securing good tenants is a must. Here are a few tricks you can use to weed out the good renters from the bad and motivate them to stay put. 1. Create an Effect Ad Campaign At this very moment there are dozens of potential tenants out there looking for a place like yours to rent. There are a number of places to advertise: the newspaper, billboards, the Internet. However, you might be wasting your time and money by advertising to people who either aren’t interested in what you have to offer or aren’t qualified to meet your minimum tenant standards. A good ad campaign lets you pinpoint and attract exactly the kind of tenants you want. The first step is to identify the type of qualities you want in your ideal tenant, and then strategize the best way to find them. Step 1: Identify and Understand Your Ideal Tenant Any advertisement works best with the right audience. Make sure it appeals to the type of people you want to rent to. So before you decide what information to highlight, consider the best tenants you’ve had or could have. Think about what characteristics you value in an applicant. Step 2: Create Effective Advertising Once you’ve identified the qualities of your best tenants, think about what factors may have contributed to them being such good renters. What did you have to offer them? Assessing this information will help you decide how to target your rental ads. For example, let’s say you’ve determined that your ideal tenants have almost always had small children, owned a small animal and worked in the nearby business district. A good strategy then would be to advertise benefits that appeal to those types of applicants, such as “Near Park,” or “Pets Okay,” or “Close to Downtown.” Step 3: Find “Model” Tenants Once you’ve found some advertising strategies that will attract your ideal tenant, you’ll need to consider the best medium to reach them. You could ask an ideal past or current tenant to post an ad for you at their place of work or college bulletin board where there might be more of the same types of people looking for housing. You could even offer a referral fee to anyone who sends an acceptable applicant. A good landlord should spend more time identifying your ideal tenant, creating effective advertisements or flyers that will attract them and then determining the best ways to get your listing in front of people who will most likely desire the amenities you offer, want to live in your area and who can afford your rent. 2. Tell It Like It Is Once you’ve secured your ideal tenant, you’ll want to plan for a healthy landlord-tenant relationship. First, you should establish a clear understand about what you expect from your tenants, and what they can expect from you. Go over the lease, carefully explaining the most potentially problematic issues, such as rent due date, late fee assessments, notices and remedies, entry and inspection situation, security deposit refunds, lease violations, reporting repairs and maintenance, and move-out procedures. Be clear about your strict adherence to your policies and procedures, but also illustrate your respect for your tenant’s rights and needs as well. This sets up a friendly and professional atmosphere in which you can both thrive. 3. Practice What You Preach Clear communication is only the first part of the equation when it comes to keeping good tenants. You also have to consistently practice the policies you’ve laid out for your tenant. For example, if your policy is to assess a late fee on the 6th of the month, resist the urge to waive the charge for the first time “out of courtesy.” Being strict with your policies will send a message to your tenant about taking the terms of the lease seriously. This is a significant factor in avoiding any problems in the future. As soon as you demonstrate flimsy boundaries, a tenant could take advantage of you. The time to show leniency, if ever, is after your tenant has demonstrated responsibility and respect for the lease terms in the past. 4. Maintain Courteous Professionalism Always be courteous and respectful. This will earn you respect and loyalty from your tenants. Here are some tips to keeping a good relationship with your tenant: - While you want to be friendly with your tenants, don’t become their “friend”. It’s more difficult to evict a “friend”.
- Avoid getting emotionally involved or arguing with your tenants. If an uncomfortable situation arises, make all communications in writing and stick with the facts.
- Deal with issues that arise and deal with them in a timely manner. This includes dealing with repair and maintenance items or returning not-so-urgent phone calls. The more you show your respect for your tenant’s time, privacy and personal needs and comfort, the more likely they will reciprocate.
- Once a tenant has demonstrated a consistent respect for you and the terms of their lease, reward them by going out of your way to accommodate them when the need arises. Use opportunities to develop a mutual trust and appreciation that will ever increase your tenant’s happiness and desire to stay.
Knowing how to attract and keep good tenants will make a significant difference in your experience as a landlord. Pay attention to what works well for you and use them as opportunities to achieve more and more success in attracting long term, loyal and happy tenants.
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